Acer had planned to launch a customized version of its Cloud Mobile smartphone in China that ran Alibaba’s Aliyun OS. The phone is already available elsewhere running Android, but with Acer’s brass keen to expand the company’s mobile market share, shifting to Aliyun in China seemed like a good idea.

Google apparently thought otherwise. According to an Alibaba spokesperson, Acer was urged to reconsider its course of action. Google reportedly threatened to terminate “product cooperation and related technical authorization” should it proceed with the Aliyun-powered phone. Acer decided to call things off — and naturally both Acer and Google are remaining tight-lipped about why this week’s launch party has been cancelled.

Why would Acer shipping a single smartphone in a single country with a competing OS rile Google? China is the biggest mobile market in the entire world, and Google’s position isn’t quite as strong there as it is elsewhere in the world. Is it really possible that Google is so concerned about building its presence there that it felt the need to bully Acer into scuttling the Aliyun Cloud Mobile?

There’s no doubt that Google’s support and cooperation is important to Acer. This is, after all, one of two companies that was bold enough to develop a first-generation Chrome OS device. Acer’s also got a stable of Android-powered tablets and smartphones on the market already, so it’s pretty clear that the Taiwanese company wants to remain hitched to the Google wagon. If that means backing away from a single launch — perhaps until a model that at least looks different than the Android original to avoid confusion — then it makes sense that Acer asked for a mulligan.

Alibaba has changed its tune slightly since the initial reaction was published. The company is now saying that the launch has been delayed and not canceled, so Acer may yet produce an Aliyun phone for China.